Winter's Beginning
by P2357
Summary: Something sits in the far north, something far more dangerous than even the fabled Others. And when a small team from Atlantis stumbles across it, Planetos will be changed forever.
1. An Unfortunate Start

**An Unfortunate Start**

John Sheppard sat alone as he watched yet another connection be made through the stargate to another world. They were still recovering from their arrival on Atlantis, and it was looking less and less likely with every mission that they would be able to find a world that could help them defeat the Wraith.

The gate flared to life with its typical burst of energy, the stargate shield up and running. They were readying a small probe to confirm the habitability of the planet, but so far all signs pointed to another upcoming mission.

It was without warning then that a number of events occurred in quick succession. The first was a blinding flash of light from the stargate, which blinded every person in the room. Nearly simultaneously, the stargate shield failed, bursting in an air blast that blew out every re-enforced pane of glass in behind the gate, and burst the eardrums of every person in the gate room.

More fortuitously, this was immediately followed by the wormhole collapsing and the stargate returning to an innocuous state. Sadly no one in the room was in any state to appreciate their luck, as those exposed directly to the gate were badly burned, and even those hidden behind computer consoles were knocked unconscious and thus unable to hear the alarms, nor respond to the emergency crew who entered the room shortly thereafter.

* * *

Jon Snow sat alone as he looked out over the far north from his perch on the wall. His mind was in truth with his brother in the south, who was even now risking his life to save his family. And here he was, watching a barren land where little had occurred for thousands of years, stuck by his own doing on the edge of nowhere.

Jon was lucky that he looked down then, for in that moment even the reflection off of the ice was sufficient to strike Jon blind. He felt an incredible heat all over his body, as if he had been thrown into a fire, though surprisingly he felt little actual pain. He did however here the cries of the two other men on the wall nearby as he scrambled along the ground towards the lift. He tried crying out to his fellow brothers, but neither responded after their initial cries. It took him nearly a minute, but he eventually found the lift, and started to make his way down the wall, hoping to tell the Lord Commander of what had happened. Although he descended with all speed, he was still a few floors above the ground when he felt his ears pop, and the wall shake with thunder. He had little chance to respond before the ground fell out from under his feet, and he and the lift plunged down to the ground below.

He was in no state to appreciate his fortune when the was dug out from the broken lift by the builders of the Night's Watch, nor the care he was given by Maester Aemon, who noted with surprise that despite his hair having reduced to ashes, his skin remained bright red, but unburnt.


	2. Energy at the Gates

**Energy at the Gates**

Dr. Elizabeth Weir looked around the table at her remaining team.

"Firstly, where are we sitting with the casualties?"

Dr Carson Beckett spoke up from his seat. "We managed to stabilize 12 of the men, including John Sheppard, but they're all still in bad shape with serious burns. Three of the men didn't make it; there was just too much damage too quickly, and we couldn't fix it all.

We also noticed that all 12 survivors are suffering acute doses of radiation. The ones nearest the gate were hardest hit, and I'm not sure we'll be able to reverse the damage."

"Alright, please tell me we know something about what happened to kill three of our men and send another 12 to medical."

Rodney Mckay cleared his throat to begin. "'Yes, I've been going over the sensor data, and although some of it was lost, I've been able to piece together a theory."

He paused to shuffle his papers, taking his time to collect his thoughts and go over everything in his head. He missed the growing anxiety in the room, but Dr Weir's cough pulled him back into the present.

"Right, so as far as I can tell, the energy emerged from the wormhole, implying it originated from the destination planet, or perhaps the wormhole itself. I find the former unlikely, since there was no indication the wormhole had any stability issues, and research into the topic says it should be impossible to extract energy from them, given that they have a thermodynamic temperature close to absolute zero."

Dr. Weir interrupted him, "Please Rodney, focus on what did happen, We don't need to know what didn't."

"Yes, well. The energy came back through the gate approximately 8 seconds after we sent our probe. Given our sensor data, it's nearly exactly the round trip time, meaning the energy likely was a result of our transferring matter through.

We also looked into the energy itself, and it has many characteristics of a nuclear blast. However, it didn't look like any fusion or fission device I've ever heard of. We were lucky we had reactivated the stargate shield after sending the probe through. As far as I can tell, it absorbed almost all the energy from the blast before it fell. I have little doubt Atlantis itself would have fallen if it hadn't been there."

Everyone around the table sat for a moment in silence. "We can't rely on luck to save us," Weir said. "We need to make sure this cannot happen again."

"I agree Dr." Teyla Emmagan spoke up. "I've never heard of something like this happening, but I suppose if it had, it's unlikely anyone would have survived to tell the tale."

Rodney spoke up again. "I know I said it wasn't like any device I'd seen, but I do have a lead as to what it was." He pulled up a sheet and held it up. "I estimated the energy output through the gate, and tried to figure out how big of a nuclear bomb we would be talking about. The energy yield was notable for being slightly higher than the largest bomb every tested on Earth, but the more interesting thing is that it is exactly half the total energy of our probe, if it was somehow converted directly."

"Converted directly? I thought the probes were powered on batteries?" Teyla commented.

"Yes, but all mass is energy. Our probes are only a few kilograms, but turn that into energy, and you have a pretty big bomb. If I'm correct, at some point between leaving here and arriving there, that probe turned into pure energy. It reasonable to assume anything else we try to send would end up the same."

"Rodney, please don't tell me we just set off a nuclear bomb on the other side of that stargate." Weir said.

"Best case we've leveled fifty miles of land. Worst case, given how civilizations elsewhere tend to congregate around stargates, we might have destroyed their civilization."

Weir blanched. "Is there anything we can do?"

Dr Peter Kavanagh spoke up. "Dr., I see no reason why we should do anything. At best we face a world destroyed, and at worst we make an enemy that could imperil this mission. Atlantis should be the number one priority, and there are plenty of potential stargate addresses without these dangers."

A number of the team members shuffled in their seats. Weir looked around, but could see more than a few others agreed. "And how do we know other gates won't have similar results? This is after all one of the first few places we've tried."

"Unlikely Dr." Rodney spoke up. "We visited hundreds of worlds on Earth, and none had this sort of reaction. And I believe the sensor data from the dialing should give us enough information to identify this problem before sending a probe, should it occur again."

"So you advice we do nothing then?"

Rodney looked a bit shocked. "Not at all. We have an incredible opportunity here. The planet we're looking for is only a few weeks away from a nearby gate by ship. If I'm right about this gate transferring matter directly into energy, we may have found the solution to our energy problems. As long as the gate is isolated, we could easily send through tiny amounts of mass, and get back ample energy at the other end. With luck the effect is reversible, meaning we could feed energy directly into Atlantis. If we recalibrated the stargate shield, we might be able to draw that power into the city, and get the shields back up."

Kavanagh looked unhappy. "You can't be seriously advocating detonating nuclear bombs in Atlantis for power. This is more than a little reckless, even for you."

"I've yet to make my decision." Dr Weird finished. "There's a lot to digest here, and I think it best we sleep on it."


	3. After the Fall

**After the Fall**

Jon could not say when he truly awoke. His memory was foggy, dulled by a pain that radiated through his body, and a fog that settled over his mind. It felt as though he had been in this state for an eternity, and yet at the same time as if no time had passed since his last memory of falling from the wall. It was only through a final force of will that he tried to force his eyes open, only to be met with pure blackness.

"Relax Jon, you're safe, you mustn't move, or you could slow your recovery." Maester Aemon's voice flowed through Jon's mind. He felt the Maester turn away from him and call out, "Boy, go get the Lord Commander." The only response was the sound of feet on the wooden floors, and a closing door

"I cannot see Maester. I am blinded. Please, I cannot see." Jon felt his heart racing as his stomach rose into his throat.

The Maester laughed. "Jon, I've covered your eyes with a cloth as a precaution. Your sight is fine." Jon felt the Maester's hands near his ear, before a constriction he hadn't noticed was relieved from his skull. It was only a moment before he slammed his eyes closed again, feeling pain from the light streaming in. As he sat there with his eyes shut, he felt the Maester stiffen

"Jon, I must ask you, what do you know about your mother."

Jon felt dizzy from the question. "What cause does that matter? I must speak to the Lord Commander about the wall. Please."

Aemon's frail voice came out oddly clear. "Please Jon, he comes, but I must know. So much has happened, much that cannot be explained. But at least one thing I might know, if only you speak."

Jon frowned. "I know nothing, Maester. Lord Stark never mentioned her, did not wish to upset Lady Stark."

Aemon paused, then spoke softly. "Jon, you remind me of someone I knew years before. I believe he would have liked to have met you. There may be more to you than you could possibly imagine." His voice had trailed off to near silence by the end, only audible due to the oppressive silence of the room. Before he could speak again however, footsteps sounded from outside, and the door opened.

"Snow, report." Lord Commander Jeor Mormont spoke.

Jon forced his eyes upon his commander, and began. "Lord Commander, I was atop the wall when a flash came over the sky from beyond the wall. I felt heat though from a hearth just before me, and heard Timmon and Garith screaming. I could not see, but managed to make my way to the lift. I tried to call to my brothers, but neither replied, so I descended to inform you. At last I recall the Earth shook, and I fell to the ground, before waking here."

Lord Mormont looked down on Jon where he lay. "So you've given me nothing I didn't know. I had hoped for more." The disappointment sprung from his lips. "Still, I can hardly fault your actions. No doubt had you remained on the wall, you would have fallen like your brothers." Jon paled at the confirmation of their deaths.

"But tell me, how were you protected from the burning?"

"Burning my lord?"

"Yes, you mentioned the heat, and yet your skin is undamaged. Your brothers were blackened on their skin, and even your clothes had melted to your chest."

"I know not my lord. Perhaps I was shielded by a wall of some sort." Even as he said it Jon knew it to be false. His perch had been if anything more exposed than that of his brothers.

"I suppose it matters not. Be ready though, Jon. A few of the men spoke of dark magic, and your survival other that of your brothers has them suspicious. I have spoken on the matter, but I fear there are more than a few men here who will find it a tempting idea to have someone to blame for the god's doings."

"Lord Commander, I believe Jon needs his rest. He has already suffered enough." Aemon spoke up.

"Of course Maester, I leave him in your capable hands. Snow, we need every man we can to repair the damage we've had. I trust you will be well soon." With that, the Lord Commander turned and walked briskly from the room.


End file.
